Mobile devices and other devices with a limited storage capacity are unable to store as much data as users of the device may like. Users of such devices may have a license to use more content than will fit on the device. When content is purchased online, this may become even more troublesome since the capacity of the device directly impacts the amount of content that users might be willing to download. In addition, the users may also generate some content that is associated with the user and/or the licensed content, which needs to be stored on a non-volatile device. This user-generated content may include state of progress in the game, point of achievement, assets, private information, etc.
In some applications, a user requests content by specifying a title (or its identity), and a server responds by providing content and a generated user license. In other words, content and user generated data may not be discarded without the risk of losing the state or the ability to execute or use the content in future.
When a user discards content, state associated with the content is also typically discarded. In some cases, when state for content or for lots of different content takes up a relatively large amount of space—even if the state could be saved when content was discarded—it may be desirable to discard the state to make room for new content and any state associated with the new content. When state is discarded, it is lost even if the user retains a license to the content and downloads the content again later. It would be beneficial to have a flexible mechanism for the management of storage and retrieval of the user's assets: his purchased content and state.
In some implementations, a playback device comprises: one or more processors; memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory configured to store computer-program instructions to perform a computer-implemented method, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a game identifier of an encrypted streaming electronic game to be streamed to the playback device, the game identifier comprising a title of the encrypted streaming electronic game; gathering, using the game identifier, an electronic ticket to facilitate access by the playback device to a secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game, the electronic ticket specifying a first gameplay state of the encrypted streaming electronic game; using the electronic ticket to access the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game at the first gameplay state; receiving one or more gameplay actions to transform the encrypted streaming electronic game to a second gameplay state; and providing the second gameplay state to a state server, the state server configured to instruct a license server to modify the electronic ticket to specify the second gameplay state for the encrypted streaming electronic game.
The electronic ticket may facilitate access to the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game on a per-user account basis. The electronic ticket may facilitate access to the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game on a per-device basis.
In some implementations, the first gameplay state specifies a first time a user played the encrypted streaming electronic game, and the second gameplay state specifies a second time the user played the encrypted streaming electronic game. The first gameplay state may specify a first score in the encrypted streaming electronic game, and the second gameplay state may specify a second score in the encrypted streaming electronic game. In various implementations, the first gameplay state specifies a first arrangement of in-game elements in the encrypted streaming electronic game, and the second gameplay state specifies a second arrangement of in-game elements in the encrypted streaming electronic game.
The game identifier may be received from a content server, and the electronic ticket is gathered from a license server. In some implementations, the computer-implemented method further comprises using the electronic ticket to access the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game at the second gameplay state. The playback device may but need not comprise a single playback device.
A computer-implemented method executed on a playback device may comprise: receiving a game identifier of an encrypted streaming electronic game to be streamed to the playback device, the game identifier comprising a title of the encrypted streaming electronic game; gathering, using the game identifier, an electronic ticket to facilitate access by the playback device to a secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game, the electronic ticket specifying a first gameplay state of the encrypted streaming electronic game; using the electronic ticket to access the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game at the first gameplay state; receiving one or more gameplay actions to transform the encrypted streaming electronic game to a second gameplay state; and providing the second gameplay state to a state server, the state server configured to instruct a license server to modify the electronic ticket to specify the second gameplay state for the encrypted streaming electronic game.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium may store program instructions thereon, the program instructions configured to instruct one or more processors to perform a method, the method comprising: receiving a game identifier of an encrypted streaming electronic game to be streamed to the playback device, the game identifier comprising a title of the encrypted streaming electronic game; gathering, using the game identifier, an electronic ticket to facilitate access by the playback device to a secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game, the electronic ticket specifying a first gameplay state of the encrypted streaming electronic game; using the electronic ticket to access the secured portion of the encrypted streaming electronic game at the first gameplay state; receiving one or more gameplay actions to transform the encrypted streaming electronic game to a second gameplay state; and providing the second gameplay state to a state server, the state server configured to instruct a license server to modify the electronic ticket to specify the second gameplay state for the encrypted streaming electronic game.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.